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The Chicago Bears volition adjacent their play Sunday astatine U.S. Bank Stadium successful Minneapolis, facing the Minnesota Vikings successful a crippled that has nary playoff implications. The Bears are hoping to decorativeness the twelvemonth connected a three-game winning streak but caput into the play arsenic 5½-point underdogs against a Vikings squad that bushed them 17-9 3 weeks ago. With kickoff of Sunday’s crippled nearing, here’s a snapshot look astatine the matchup.
Chicago Bears (6-10) astatine Minnesota Vikings (7-9)
- Kickoff: Noon Sunday astatine U.S. Bank Stadium successful Minneapolis.
- TV and radio: FOX-32, WBBM-AM 780, WCFS-FM 105.9, WRTO-AM 1200 (Spanish).
- The line: Vikings by 5½. Over/under: 44½.
- Sign up present to get Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts first
1. Pressing question
<mark class="hl_orange">Is this the extremity of the roadworthy for Bears manager Matt Nagy?</mark>
Probably. It’s hard to find anyone successful the league who isn’t expecting Nagy to beryllium fired aft Sunday’s game. Which apt leaves Nagy to travel the paths of his 2 predecessors, John Fox and Marc Trestman, who each ended their tenures arsenic Bears manager successful Minneapolis.
Nagy is 34-30 during the regular play during his clip successful Chicago and mislaid some his playoff games. After a five-game losing streak successful October and November dropped the Bears to 3-7 this season, it seemed to beryllium a foregone decision that Nagy’s days with the enactment were numbered.
Still, whether Nagy has done much reflecting and lamenting privately, helium has publically steered astir discussing his coaching destiny and alternatively has pushed to support the absorption connected each week’s mentation for the adjacent game.
On Friday, aft starring what galore judge volition beryllium his past afloat signifier arsenic Bears coach, Nagy again expressed pridefulness successful the mode his players person continued to grind and put successful their mentation adjacent with the squad retired of playoff contention since mid-December.
“When things don’t spell arsenic good arsenic you privation them to go, however bash you react?” Nagy said. “Do you change? Do you dainty radical differently? Are you a antithetic caput coach? Are you a antithetic benignant of player? Because arsenic they say, that reveals your existent character.
“In the end, we tin each look backmost and say, ‘How did we respond during a pugnacious time?’ And I deliberation everybody successful this gathering tin archer you, ‘We reacted beauteous well.’ ”
For Nagy, that counts for something. And the Bears person an accidental to decorativeness their play connected a three-game winning streak.
2. Player successful the spotlight
Andy Dalton admitted Friday that 1 thought bounces astir his caput rather often.
What would person happened if I hadn’t gotten hurt?
Who knows however the Bears play mightiness person been antithetic had Dalton not suffered a bony bruise successful his near genu successful the 2nd 4th of the 2nd game? That wounded altered the big-picture backmost plans the Bears had coming into the season, yet shifting rookie Justin Fields into the starting relation for 10 of the adjacent 12 games. The Bears went 2-8 successful the games Fields started. And portion Fields gained invaluable acquisition during a play successful which the Bears astir apt weren’t going to beryllium title contenders to statesman with, Dalton can’t beryllium blamed for wondering whether helium could person lifted this squad beyond the expectations of truthful galore outsiders.
Had it not been for that unfortunate wounded …
“I deliberation astir that each the time,” Dalton said. “It’s unfortunate however the full wounded happened (with me) not truly getting touched. Things shifted from that constituent forward. So I bash deliberation astir that. But I bash recognize that everything happens for a crushed and I spot successful God’s program implicit mine. I whitethorn not recognize wherefore it happened oregon erstwhile it happened and each that. But I cognize I tin spot that there’s bully that has travel from it. And determination has been a batch of maturation for maine arsenic a idiosyncratic and arsenic a subordinate since.”
Dalton, who signed a one-year, $10 cardinal woody with the Bears successful March, volition get 1 last commencement Sunday, pushed backmost into enactment aft Fields tested affirmative for COVID-19 successful the mediate of the week. The Bears are 3-2 successful games Dalton has started.
At the extremity of what helium called “an up and down” season, Dalton would emotion to enactment immoderate affirmative finishing touches connected things by lifting the discourtesy against a beardown Vikings defense.
For immoderate it’s worth, Dalton took the razor to his beard this week.
“New year, caller look,” helium said. “Starting fresh.”
3. Keep an oculus connected …
Jaylon Johnson versus Justin Jefferson.
Three weeks ago, Johnson was truly looking guardant to a matchup against the Vikings prima receiver, dialing successful connected his mentation and anxious to bash his portion to assistance incorporate Jefferson. Then, a time earlier the game, Johnson tested affirmative for COVID-19 and couldn’t play.
“I missed (that game) a lot,” Johnson said Thursday, “considering the mentation I enactment successful that week — going done watching film, practicing, seeing definite things. Having that taken distant from maine astatine the past infinitesimal was beauteous hurtful. I wanted that matchup. That was thing I’d been looking guardant to.”
Sunday presents different opportunity. Jefferson is 2nd successful the NFL successful receiving yards with 1,509. He has 103 catches, too, including 9 touchdowns.
Jefferson hauled successful an aboriginal 12-yard touchdown drawback from Kirk Cousins astatine Soldier Field successful Week 15 but was different held successful cheque by a Bears defence that was missing each 5 of its accustomed starters successful the secondary. He finished with 4 catches for 47 yards.
Johnson wants his ace astatine Jefferson, looking to decorativeness a beardown 2nd play connected a precocious note.
“This week is nary different,” helium said. “Just going retired preparing the close way. Watching film. My mentation volition instrumentality attraction of itself.”
Johnson said helium is looking guardant to decompressing aft Sunday and going done a thorough self-evaluation process of his 2021 season. What is undeniable is that helium remains uber-confident successful his accomplishment set, has developed assurance successful his mentation regular and has channeled some those things into becoming a respected person connected defense.
“I privation to beryllium better, truthful I privation those astir maine to beryllium better,” Johnson said. “I privation to bring guys on the champion mode I can, adjacent person guys propulsion maine to beryllium the champion mentation of myself. I’m large connected everybody being connected the aforesaid leafage and pushing each different to beryllium better.”
4. Odds and ends
With their secondary depleted truthful importantly 3 weeks ago, the Bears inactive someway managed to clasp the Vikings to conscionable 61 nett passing yards, the lowest output of the Mike Zimmer era. A week later, the Bears defence held the Seattle Seahawks scoreless successful the 4th fourth to assistance spark a rally for a 25-24 win. Then, successful Week 17, the Bears enactment unneurotic arguably their astir implicit antiaircraft effort of the play successful a 29-3 blowout of the New York Giants.
Yes, the grade of trouble of that show indispensable beryllium considered. But the Bears inactive recorded 4 sacks and a safety, forced 4 turnovers, held the Giants to 155 full yards and 13 archetypal downs connected 12 possessions and didn’t let a azygous explosive play.
“It was conscionable a full radical effort,” coordinator Sean Desai said. “A batch of vigor and foodstuff from the sideline and from the players connected the field. And truly conscionable large execution of the program and the techniques and the details of what we were trying to get done. When we bash that, we tin beryllium beauteous special. And that was a peculiar performance.”
Desai was asked to construe the beardown finishing agelong by his portion and what it has told him.
“It conscionable tells america the quality of our guys and the quality of our coaches that we person implicit here,” helium said. “Our mentality connected defence has ever been a 1-0 approach. We’re not changing that.”
Added extracurricular linebacker Robert Quinn: “We’re yet playing up to our standards. We’ve been inconsistent connected the year. And we enactment ourselves successful a unspeakable position. But arsenic a man, arsenic radical with pride, we person to decorativeness beardown and springiness ourselves thing affirmative going into adjacent year.”
5. Injury updates
Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks is the lone Bears subordinate who was declared retired Friday connected the authoritative wounded study for the finale. Hicks has been battling an ankle wounded since November, and Sunday volition people the eighth crippled helium has missed this play and the 20th implicit the past 3 seasons.
Robert Quinn (shoulder), Eddie Goldman (finger) and Duke Shelley (heel) were listed arsenic questionable, but each 3 practiced successful afloat Friday and fig to play.
The Bears connected Saturday elevated wide receiver Dazz Newsome from the signifier squad. The 2021 sixth-round prime has played successful 2 games.
For the Vikings, antiaircraft tackle Michael Pierce (illness) is doubtful portion Mackensie Alexander (ankle), Kris Boyd (ribs) and Wyatt Davis (illness) are questionable.
Predictions
Brad Biggs (13-3)
The Vikings fell retired of the playoff contention with a dispirited 37-10 roadworthy nonaccomplishment to the Green Bay Packers past week. Vikings manager Mike Zimmer and Bears counterpart Matt Nagy are apt entering their last crippled earlier receiving pinkish slips. The Vikings are destined to decorativeness successful 2nd spot successful the NFC North adjacent if the Bears triumph and some teams decorativeness with 7-10 records. So there’s truly thing astatine involvement astatine US Bank Stadium. Vikings backmost Kirk Cousins, who returns aft missing past week connected the reserve/COVID-19 list, has had unsmooth times against the Bears but has been dependable against them successful Minnesota. Figure that volition springiness the Vikings a flimsy borderline arsenic the Bears bid to extremity the play with a three-game winning streak.
<mark class="hl_purple">Vikings 20, Bears 17</mark>
Colleen Kane (14-2)
The past clip the Bears and Vikings met — a 17-9 Vikings triumph successful Week 15 — the Bears were missing 14 players with COVID-19. Justin Fields played injured. And the Bears made respective costly mistakes. Now the teams conscionable successful a crippled without playoff implications. The Bears person been resigned to that destiny for weeks and inactive won the past 2 games down Nick Foles and Andy Dalton. So I’m going to conjecture the Bears and Matt Nagy person the information for 1 much triumph near successful them.
<mark class="hl_orange">Bears 20, Vikings 17</mark>
Dan Wiederer (15-1)
Neither squad volition beryllium playing successful the postseason. Both teams could beryllium facing important changes to their coaching staffs and beforehand offices erstwhile the crippled ends. The level of vexation surrounding each enactment is similar. Still, the Vikings stay conscionable a smidge amended overall. And truthful this is however it volition end.
<mark class="hl_purple">Vikings 26, Bears 24</mark>
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